Dale Baxter
Dale Baxter was a pupil at Waterloo Road in Series 2. Dale plays truant so frequently that his mother, Shelley, received letters about it, eventually being summoned to court, but she didn't think it was serious, and didn't realise she needed to attend court, so she didn't go. Police knocked on the door, and Dale's mother went to answer it, but they knew it was the police and Dale didn't want his mother to be arrested so he tried to restrain her from opening the door, ultimately hitting her in the face by accident. The police were let in, and Shelley was arrested for failing to appear in court, and a social worker appears to inform Dale he will go into care. Dale is taken back to school and forced to attend lessons. He ends up really enjoying a drama lesson with Izzie Redpath and her class, but afterwards we notice that something is troubling him when he rushes off to the toilets and changes his pants in a cubicle. In the next lesson, French with Steph Haydock, fellow pupil Courtney notices a bad smell coming from where Dale is sitting, and picks on him for it during the lesson, and during the next lesson - English with Lorna Dickey. Dale asks Lorna if he can go to the toilet, to which she snaps that he can 'wait till the end of the lesson like everyone else', irritable because of her recent Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis. Dale later stands up to go run out of the room, but Lorna blocks the door, telling him so sit down or she'll call Mr Treneman. Before Dale can do anything, however, he is suddenly urinating where he stands, soaking his pants, trousers, and the classroom floor. The class begin to laugh at him. Lorna tells Dale to take himself off to Kim Campbell to get cleaned up, asking Courtney to pass his bag over, however when she does she notices an already soaked pair of pants in his bag, lifting it up to more mocking laughter from the class. Dale grabs his bag and does a runner. Acting headteacher Jack Rimmer is being interviewed for the job of permanent head, running against a woman named Lyndsay Woodham for the post. They are sitting outside a classroom, wherein the board of governors are conferring about who should be head. Roger Aspinall comes out to tell Jack to come in, but suddenly Dale bursts in and tries to attack Jack, taking his frustrations out on him, as Jack was the one who called the police on Shelley. Jack easily restrains Dale and calms him down. Lorna does some internet research about Dale's symptoms, where she discovers information about a condition called Overactive Bladder Syndrome. Dale is sent to a doctor, who confirms his diagnosis of Overactive Bladder Syndrome, and provides Dale with possible options for treatment. Dale is relieved and very reassured that his urination problem is an actual condition that can be fixed, rather than something that is his fault. Shelley is allowed to go home, and Dale is allowed to live with her, apologising for getting her into trouble. Dale was the reason Jack got to keep is job - the chair of governors, headed up by Nigel Hinchcliffe, chose Lyndsay, but she turned the post down, put off by Dale attacking Jack. Despite Dale getting treatment and everything being back on track, he is not seen again. Behind the Scenes Dale is played by Jack O'Connell, who is far better known for playing James Cook in Skins from 2009 to 2013. Category:Series 2 characters Category:Students Category:Jack Rimmer Era Students